Finding our soulmate or “the lid to our pan” can be amazing, but it can also bring different challenges.
Imagine being in a relationship with someone who sleeps during the first five minutes of a movie while you don’t even miss the end credits? Or sharing your bed with someone who sets 20 alarms every 5 minutes, but you only need one?
When we decide to share our lives with someone else, we need to consider the different habits that they may have, the fact that they have a completely different background and were raised not in the same way that we were and also the fact that they lived experiences that never crossed your mind.
If those are some of the examples we can find in a relationship, more challenges can appear when we add the “intercultural” variant to this equation. Communication, culture, decision making and worldview can be a few examples. But we cannot deny the pros that this experience can bring.
The intercultural relationship allows a different exchange. We have the chance to learn a new language and expand our knowledge about the world because we are continually exposed to a new culture, besides promoting the acquisition of new skills like flexibility and empathy, because we understand that not everyone was exposed to the same environment that we were. Furthermore, it can push us to decide to move to another country eventually, right?
Have you ever had this experience? What was the biggest challenge and the best learning you got from an intercultural relationship? Leave a comment below :)